B-run,

We've met, and I don't take you as being a pussy to anyone. I don't mean to come off that way. I understand that Monday morning quarterbacking, as applied to child rearing, isn't the same as being in the heat of the moment on game day. While it's true that I don't know what I would do in that situation, I have the prior experience of what I have done when I'm in the authority role. Sometimes I think I can be an actor; I can be good cop or bad cop, as the situation seems to call for. Frankly, it's just me that if my kid calls me a c-s, they're outa' my house until they try an attitude change. Tough love is the hardest thing to do. I knew I couldn't do everything, so I set a small number of boundaries and made them absolute. And I was never a bank ATM for the kids. First, I didn't have any money, so it wasn't an option. Maybe I got sh!thouse lucky; I don't know. Being daughters, they're closer to their mother than to me. However, they seem to have a lot of genuine respect for me and the principles I instilled in them. Their mom wanted to have a lot of control on the outcome. I just wanted them to be safe so that they would have the options of choosing the eventual outcome.

I wish you the very best. I can only say that the experience can be very rewarding, and the results can impress you no end. I hope that's what you end up with.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.